


Law Abiding Citizens

by dyingpoet



Category: The Outsiders - All Media Types
Genre: Canon Era, Detention, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Period Typical Attitudes, this is...gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:42:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22591957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dyingpoet/pseuds/dyingpoet
Summary: Ponyboy gets detention and conveniently isn't alone
Relationships: Ponyboy Curtis/Curly Shepard
Comments: 30
Kudos: 176





	Law Abiding Citizens

**Author's Note:**

> based off a prompt on tumblr from @endlessgoldensky ily fam!!!

Ponyboy was paying a lot more attention to his dinner plate was strictly necessary. Moving his potatoes around with his fork was a lot better than listening to Darry lecture, and besides, he really got pissed whenever Pony didn’t look him in the eye when he was talking to him. He’d been getting a kick out of getting Darry mad lately, Soda said it was his age.

“Are you even  _ listenin’  _ to me? Or isn’t anything getting through that thick skull’a yours?”

Soda’s chair screeched as he pushed away from the table to clear his plate and Ponyboy looked up real slow. “I ain’t gotta be lookin’ right at you to  _ hear  _ you, Darry.”

The look he got back could’ve killed him on the spot. “Don’t be giving me lip, kid, I mean it. Goin’ around and startin’ fights in the goddamn hallway isn’t a joke - hell, it ain’t even  _ like  _ you.”

Darry stabbed at his chicken so hard the plate could’ve cracked, and Ponyboy felt a pressure start to build in his chest. “I didn’t - I didn’t  _ start  _ nothin’! I only hit the guy because he was all over little Sadie DeMarcus in the hallway, y’know, Sadie? She’s  _ fourteen _ ?”

“And you’re sixteen and I’m twenty-two and goddamn _ Lydon Johnson’s _ fifty-nine, the hell does that have to do with anything?” Darry finally stood up to clear his own plate, hollering over his shoulder as he did. “And y’know what? It should bother you a helluva lot more than me, you’re the one that’s missin’ track practice for detention, that oughta be real good for you, huh? State right around the corner.”

Standing himself, Ponyboy felt his fists ball and got up to go after Darry. The hell kind of right did he have to come after him for socking some sorta-sorta  _ pervert  _ soc in the hallway? Soda appeared, back to him, before he could say as much. 

“Cut ‘im a little slack, Dar. He was helpin’ out some little girl, ain’t that a good enough reason? Hell, mama took us all out for dinner that time you knocked Jay Kendall out for talkin’ dirty with Paul’s little sister-”

“That ain’t the same thing,” Darry countered roughly, but he wasn’t making eye contact with either of them when he brushed past Soda. They all knew he was right.

“How the hell ain’t that the same thing?”

Darry whirled to face him and stuck a finger accusatorially at his face. “Because that was..” he trailed off and Ponyboy just barely fought back a grin, Soda was behind Darry and didn’t even try. “Y’know what? Whatever, serve the damn thing, I don’t care. It happens again and you’ll be stuck in this damn house so long the  _ seasons’ll  _ change, that clear?”

“Crystal,” Ponyboy replied, grinning wide now and catching Soda’s wink over Darry’s shoulder. 

He walked off then, and both brothers watched him until a bedroom door slammed. Soda turned to Ponyboy then and ruffled his hair. “Don’t say I never did nothin’ for ya.”

“Nah, I’ll just think it.” 

“Oh you little-”

Soda made for a headlock and they both tumbled to the floor when Pony dodged it, grappling for the upper hand and trying not to laugh. 

“Either of you break a thing in there, I swear ta _god_..”

* * *

“Word around the block is Clark Kent Curtis got himself a detention.”

Ponyboy slammed his locker shut and forced a glare at the mop of curly hair in front of him. It didn’t play off. “We don’t live on the same block.”

Curly rolled his eyes and leaned heavy on the lockers. “Shoot, word ‘round the globe is ya got a detention, hell, I saw it in the papers right after the  _ Peanuts _ , how’s that?”

“Just fine, ‘specially since I didn’t know you could read a newspaper.” He dodged Curly’s swing and grinned, shifting to move his books up under one arm against his side. “And what’s it ta you anyhow? Worried I’m takin’ yer rep?”

A snort, and Pony flinched when Curly kicked his shin lightly. “You wish ya had my rep. And for your information, Baby Curtis, I happen to be sittin’ in on detention today. Ya know, keep an eye on all the juvenile delinquents, givin' back to my community.”

“You ain’t given nothin’ to this community but a high crime rate.”

“Damn straight,” Curly crooned, and he slung an arm around Pony’s shoulder as they merged back into the hallway. Pony always thought it was awful neat the way Curly walked through a hallway - just about everybody moved out of his way. He’d made a joke about him being Moses a while back but Curly hadn’t used a Bible for much more than rolling paper in his life and he didn't catch on.

A soc girl gave them both a stare as Curly brushed past her, ignoring or not noticing Pony’s slight blush and apologetic look. “Hey, you got plans after we bust outta jail? Timmy’s out on some kinda job ‘til next week - construction or somethin’, I dunno. And Angel’s trailing after Bryon and Mark whatever like a dog that ain’t been fed, house’s open.”

He didn’t miss the slight pinch of Curly’s fingers on his shoulder after the last remark, and they both paused at the door to detention. “I dunno, Darry don’t get home ‘til seven, but I guess Soda don’t mind none if I’m late.”

“Sounds like a yes then, Curtis.”

“Don’t sound like nothin’,” he mumbled, shrugging off Curly’s shoulder but he was smiling just a little. Even if he couldn’t go Curly’d end up hauling him over there anyway. “Let’s go.”

He pushed past Curly into the classroom, the other greaser sighing dramatically and stretching his hand out like a drowning man when Pony grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him in after him. 

Mr. Simmons was kicked back on his desk, flipping through a book when they both strolled in, and Pony felt the tension drain from his shoulder. Mr. Simmons didn’t give a damn about teaching, much less detention, he usually didn’t even stick around for it. Made it a helluva lot easier to get through two hours in a cinder block room.

The door clicked shut and Mr. Simmons glanced up, nodding at the desks in front of him. “Take a seat, boys.”

“We the only two charged today, Sims?” Curly asked, flopping down in the back row and leaning far over the desk. Pony moved to sit next to him and started pulling out the copy of  _ Catch-22 _ he’d checked out from the library to try and re-read. 

“That’s  _ Mister  _ Sims to you, Charles,” Mr. Simmons drawled, looking at the two of them over his book. “And yes, just you two today.”

Curly popped his knuckles and leaned back in his chair, tipping it back on two legs so it rested against the back wall. “Well that’s a shame, huh Pony? Place’s goin’ to the dogs, ain’t nobody know the value of a good fight no more.  _ Damn  _ shame.”

All he got back was a sigh from Pony and Mr. Simmons, who glanced at the clock, snapping his book shut and standing up. “Well, you know the drill, two hours. I’ll be back at five to make sure you both stayed the whole time. No talking.”

Curly saluted and Pony gave a soft, “Thank you,” as the door shut behind the older man. If this was detention, he might aim for a couple more, Darry couldn’t ride his ass here at least. 

“What’s -  _ no _ , nuh uh, you ain’t readin’ and leaving me to watch the paint dry for two hours. Not happenin’, Curtis.” Curly snatched the book from Pony’s hands and tossed it a few desks over before he could get a word of protest out. He hadn’t had much hope for that plan anyway. Curly couldn’t go five seconds without opening his mouth, two hours was a death sentence. 

“You oughta try readin’ some time, Curly. Might be able ta get outta here before yer a super-senior,” Ponyboy teased and stood up to go grab the book. Curly caught his wrist and yanked back hard so he toppled back onto the greaser’s lap, face burning red. “Save it for the back room at Buck’s, Shepard.”

Curly laughed instead of replying, kicking the desk forward and shifting to get Ponyboy into a half-nelson, clasping his hands around the back of his neck when Pony tried to squirm out of the hold. “Don’t think your big brother’d be too pleased ta know you’re wise ta what goes on in the back room at Buck’s.”

With a sharp elbow to Curly’s ribcage, Pony struggled to a stand and flicked Curly hard on the ear. “And I don’t think  _ your  _ big brother’d be too please ta know what’s goin’ on in your back bedroom on the weekends.”

“And what exactly  _ is  _ goin’ on in my back bedroom on the weekends? Go on, give me all the dirty details, Curtis.”

He was smirking in that way that always made Pony choke on his words, and he opted for flicking him in the ear again instead of replying. He figured getting the book would end up with Curly jumping him if he tried again, so he sat up on the desk in front of Curly and swung his feet. 

“If I can’t read, you got any bright ideas on what we’re supposed ta do for two hours?”

Curly shrugged and held steady eye contact with Pony as he did. “Nothin’ age appropriate, if that’s what your askin’. You got a weed?”

He caught the pack Pony tossed him and lit one up, taking a drag before passing it. Pony inhaled deep and blew a ring, Johnny’d been teaching him how out in the lot the last couple weeks. “Why do you got detention anyway?”

“Murder. First degree.”

“I’m sure.”

“Nah, just arson.”

Pony passed the cigarette back and leaned back on his hands. They could talk circles around each other for the whole two hours, they really could. “Oh yeah, whole school’s burned down ‘cept this room, can’t believe I didn’t notice.”

“You really oughta go into stand-up, fuck college for you, make a living bein’ funny like that.” Curly blew smoke straight up at the ceiling and said, “But keepin’ it straight, I flicked a but in a garbage can, in the bathrooms y’know? Whole thing lit up, guess it wasn’t out all the way.”

“Dumbass.”

“ _ Dumbass _ ,” Curly mocked, voice high pitched. “What about you, huh? Heard you played good ol’ knight in shinin’ armor for Sadie DeMarcus.”

“Yeah, so?”

“So, kid flirts more than Angel, prob’ly was halfway down the guy’s pants when you busted in, fuckin’ Muhammad Ali style.” 

It was always Curly who had some smart remark like that. You’d think with a little sister he’d give more of a damn about little girls getting picked on, or picked  _ up  _ for that matter, but he never batted so much as an eye. 

It frosted him a little bit. “Don’t be an asshole, Curly.”

Curly looked up and put a hand against his chest, gaping in faux offense. “Me? An asshole? The goddamn saint of Tulsa? Shame on you.”

Curly never took anything serious either, and Pony rolled his eyes and hopped off the desk to go grab his book and read a few desks away, ignoring Curly’s noise of protest.

“Jesus, don’t catch yer fuckin’ ridges on it, I was just joking.”

When Pony didn’t look up he heard the chair squeak against the floor and Curly planted himself down on the desk in front of him, leaning down to peak over the book. His hair was spilling over the page and Pony raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

“What book’s this?” The book smacked shut and Curly sat back up, smirking. It was almost impossible to stay mad at him if you weren’t Tim or Angela, and Pony’d tried. “You shuttin’ a book? We oughta call the papers - no, the mayor - no, the  _ president- _ ”

A quick glance at the shuttered off windows and the shut door and Ponyboy leaned forward and cut him off. Curly kissed back roughly, and his moved a hand to the back of Pony’s neck before the other pulled back. “Aw that ain’t fair, no one likes a tease.”

Ponyboy knew he was blushing something fierce, but chose to ignore it and reply, “And nobody likes a dead man, either, so let’s wait ‘til we’re off public property, huh?”

Throwing Curly a bone like that was like throwing steak to a dog, and he grinned wide and planted his feet on both of Pony’s thighs. “Oh you savvy real good, Curtis.”

“Oh get off me, skuzz.”

* * *

As soon as Mr. Simmons walked back in after the two hours Curly’d half dragged Ponyboy out the door, barely managing a smart ass remark over his shoulder on the way. They’d almost gotten plowed down by two cars on the way to Curly’s house, and Ponyboy was practically out of breath by the time they got in the front door. 

“Eager ain’t a good look on you, Curly.”

Curly slammed the front door shut and curled an arm around Ponyboy’s neck, grinding his knuckles into his hair playfully. “You wound me, ya really do.”

“Knock it off,” Ponyboy half-laughed out, shoving the taller boy off and leaning back against their counter. The place was a mess, it always was. The trash was overflowing and the dishes looked like they were going to start drawing flies soon. It was a far cry from home. “Y’all really oughta think about hirin’ a maid, think this technically counts as a toxic waste zone.”

Proving his point, Curly shrugged off his jacket and tossed it on the floor. When he turned back to look at him Pony felt his heart pick-up. Curly and Angela really looked a lot alike. “Oh yeah? You lookin’ for a job? ‘Cause you’d make a real good maid, get that little dress ‘n everything - hey I think Angel’s got one in her room somewhere-”

Ponyboy shoved at his shoulder and Curly took the opportunity to get him around the wrist and pull him toward his room. He made a point of dragging his feet, it was fun to get Curly all riled up. 

But he wasn’t joking about him being eager, either. 

“C’mon Pone, I’m going fuckin’ gray over here,” Curly whined. He pulled Ponyboy through his door and shut it behind the two of them. Pony pulled a face in an instant.

“Lord, don’t you ever make it in the trash can? Look’s like a crime scene in here, really.”

“Ain’t it? Technically?” Curly shoved his chest a little, enough to get him to trip over a lump of clothes and fall, back hitting the mattress and bouncing. “I mean, we ain’t exactly  _ law abiding citizens _ , you ‘n me.”

Ponyboy grinned and tipped his head back to make sure Curly’s shades were shut when a weight dropped down on his hips and Curly smirked down from above him. His hands curled lightly around Pony’s wrists and the touch almost burnt. “Guess not.”

Leaning down, Curly made like he was going in for his mouth and dodged at the last second, landing on his neck instead. Against it, he mumbled, “Let’s not go breakin’ that streak then, huh?"

**Author's Note:**

> anyway i love this ship now and would die for both of them that is a Fact now
> 
> kudos/comments!!! leave em!!! im begging!!!


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